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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. He is an ace ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. field — for sport
  3. file — a document
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. stock — shares
  6. file — a tool
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. field — a subject
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — happy
  12. field — farmland
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. deal — to handle
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. file — a line of people
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. foot — a measure
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. pitcher — in baseball

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com